Remember Me?
by KayBeth13
Summary: Sam was a mechanic on Peacemillion, Trowa was gundam pilot 03. They shared only brief moments together but through it a, bond was formed. Four years later, with the gundam pilots disbanded, Sam meets a clown with a pair of strangely familiar eyes...
1. Memories

**Hey all! I'm back again! This is just something I thought of a few months ago and only now have time to sit and write, so I hope y'all enjoy it!**

**...**

_As her feet pounded along the floor, the only thought running through Sam's mind was to get to the hanger and complete the upgrade on the gundams in the fastest time possible. Libra had managed to break through the defense and one of the thrusters had blow, throwing the whole ship into chaos. As people ran past her and knocked into her in their mad panics, all Sam cared about was that her ears were ringing from the alarms blearing overhead and her legs were aching from running the length of the ship. _

_She turned a corner and ran straight into something solid, but before she hit the floor, a pair of hands caught her. She looked up and gave her savior a grateful smile, fighting the blush on her face as she recognized the piercing green of the visible eye on his face. _

"_Trowa, thanks." She gasped out._

_Trowa simply helped her to her feet before turning to look out of the window, a grim expression on his face as he watched Libra moving closer to the Peacemillion. Sam also glanced outside and her eyes widened. She let out a curse and fled down the corridor, anxious to get to the hangar, not noticing that Trowa watched her go with a look of vague curiosity in his eyes._

_As she burst through the door, she was aware of Duo looking at her and yelling something but she was unable to hear it over the racket of the alarm. Instead, she chose to simply flip him the finger and rush over to the first gundam that came into sight, ignoring the look of indignation on the braided teenagers face. She glanced to one side and could see that Howard had already finished Shenlong's upgrade and it had already gone. Wing Zero's upgrade was also complete and Heero was just climbing in to take his seat. He looked at her and she gave him a small yet scared smile. He acknowledged it with a nod of the head before blasting out to join the battle. Howard moved on to Sandrock and Sam swiftly moved to Deathscythe. Duo joined her and gave her a playful shove, but the steely look in his eyes told Sam that it was merely a bluff and that he was as worried as the rest of them were about this. She gave him an encouraging hug and quickly finished the upgrade._

"_Be careful!" she yelled in his ear over the alarms._

_Duo gave her a half hearted smile before he too was in his suit and gone. Sam turned to the last gundam and saw Trowa clicking on the computer next to it. She ran over to him and he stepped out of the way to let her take over, showing her he trusted her with his machine. Sam frowned at the screen, knowing it would take too long and typed in the override to finish the work herself. She jumped into the pilot's seat and took out one of the compartments, replacing it with the new one with an almost inhuman speed. She grasped the side to pull herself out and found herself surprised when Trowa was already there and helped her out. She stumbled at the last second and pressed up against his chest, her face inches away from his. She gave him an embarrassed smile and he smiled back. _

"_You should be more careful" he said in her ear._

_Sam found herself unable to contain her blush and felt him chuckle. He looked at her, his eyes sparkling in amusement and she playfully pushed him. The alarm suddenly stopped, snapping them both out of their trances. They pulled apart and Trowa hopped into his seat. Just before he shut the hatch, Sam's face hovered above it._

"_Promise you'll come back" she said._

"_I promise." He reassured her. "You be careful too, okay?" he asked._

_Sam nodded and jumped down from the gundam. As it blasted out of the hanger, she brushed away a tear that had escaped and tried to recompose herself. The last thing she needed right now was a breakdown right when she was needed to be there should any emergency repairs be needed. She caught Howard looking at her and when she turned to face him, he simply signaled he was heading back to the cockpit before disappearing out of the room. Sam sighed and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the ringing in her ears, left behind from the alarms._

_It wasn't long before there was a sudden blast, jolting the ship and causing it to vibrate. Sam was thrown to the floor and covered her head as tools fell from their shelves, hitting her body and causing her to yell with shock and pain. When the shaking stopped, she looked up, wandering what just happened. She had barely reached the hangar door when the alarms once more burst to life. She let out a growl of annoyance when her ears were once again blasted by the noise and as she stepped back into the corridors, people were yet again making mad dashes to who-knows-where. Sam saw one of the other mechanics racing towards her and he indicated for her to follow. They ran to the main engine room and when Sam saw the smoke and flames coming from it, she gasped, knowing immediately that one of the thrusters had blown. Five other men stood by the door, waiting for her instructions. Fortunately, the alarms once again shut off, enabling Sam to call and for them to all hear her._

"_Two of you get the hoses. The rest of you, come with me. We need to stop the fire and try to fix the thruster now or it could blow and we're in serious trouble if it does!"_

_Everyone burst to action and Sam could faintly heard Howard's voice over the intercom instructing all spare people to get to the engine room and help. Sam grit her teeth and pushed into the room, immediately recoiling at the intense heat and smoke that hit her. Still, she moved forward, determined to fix the damage before it was too late. _

_She found the source of the fire quickly and once the flames had been doused in that area, she and one of the others set to work on the damage. By the time they finished, the flames were almost out but Sam could feel her lungs burning through the effort of breathing and her eyes were watering from the smoke in them. She turned to give the thumbs up to say the repair was complete but a yell from one of the others stopped her. She turned just in time to see a burning piece of rubble fall from above and land straight on the thruster, immediately reigniting it into an uncontrollable inferno._

"_Everyone get OUT!" Sam screamed._

_There was a mad rush to the door and Sam thrust it open, seeing Duo and Trowa running towards them. She opened her mouth to tell them to stay back but before she could utter a syllable, the thruster exploded and the next thing she knew, she let out a piercing scream as a blast of heat and shrapnel threw tore into her back and threw her across the room, towards another thruster that had also begun to ignite…_


	2. Sleeplesness

_Sorry, I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter: Sorry about that. I don't own Gundam Wing, I only own Sam and Mel!_

Sam flew into a seating position, a strangled scream escaping her as she woke. For a few seconds, she held her duvet in a vice like grip and tried to control her breathing. A fine sheen of sweat had built up on her whole body and in the cool night, it made her shiver more than usual. As she finally calmed enough to reprimand herself for being so stupid, she saw the hallway light click on. A few seconds later, Howard's head appeared from the door.

"Hey missy, you okay?"

Sam gave him a warm smile and nodded.

"Yeah, just the same as usual. Sorry for waking you."

Howard simply gave a small shrug.

"It's fine; you woke a little later than normal today so I'm not pissed with ya."

He winked to let her know he was teasing and Sam rolled her eyes. As Howard disappeared back to his room, she glanced at the clock and saw with surprise that he was right. It was only just 6am and as they both usually got up around half 6, she didn't feel as guilty. Ever since the day the thruster blew up, she relived it in her sleep. Even though it had been almost four years ago, the memory still haunted her and she still couldn't believe she'd managed to survive it, let alone be as fit and healthy as she'd ever been in her life. The only lasting effects it had on her were the deep scars in her back and a few scars on her arms, face and legs and the dreams.

At first it was a nightly occurrence. She'd fall asleep around midnight and it was an almost guarantee that she would wake up screaming around 3am. After a month of broken sleep, both she and Howard were at their wits end; both were extremely tired and frustrated ad kept taking it out on each other. In the end, Sam was invited to spend a week with Duo and Hilde back on L2. She didn't sleep once, too afraid of waking the pair of them up and also afraid to show her weaknesses. Duo of course, knew there was something wrong and by the end of the week, pinned her down and forced it out of her. It was only after she broke down in uncontrollable sobs that he finally let her up off the floor but then still didn't let her go, instead pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

The next week, she went to the doctors, who suggested she try a sleeping tablet. For the first time in weeks, she finally had dreamless sleeps but she found herself to be permanently sluggish and weak. In the end, she decided that medication wasn't the way to fix her. that was when she started staying awake for as long as possible, sometimes lasting four or five days, other times lasting only a few hours. Within a month, she had settled into a routine where she only slept one night in every five, meaning Howard was able to get a full night's rest most nights. Howard argued incessantly that he didn't mind being woken up and was worried about her but she simply shrugged him off. In the end, he gave up pleading with her to sleep and let her go about it her way despite the worry he had. It had been just over three years since she started her routine and even though the longer it went on the more ill and run down she felt, it worked. At least now, she only had the nightmare once a week, which calmed her. As far as she was concerned, the memory alone was bad enough; dreaming about it made her feel as though she was actually there, and that was what scared her.

A knock at her door broke Sam from her thoughts and she glanced to see Howard standing there, a bowl of cereal in one hand, a glass of juice in the other.

"I thought you might want these" he said.

"Thanks Howard" Sam responded.

Howard sat on the end of the bed and silently handed Sam the food. As she ate, he discreetly observed her and a worried frown crossed his face. Any idiot could see how much she'd changed. Back before the explosion she had been quite short (after all, she was only fifteen and still had a lot of growth in her) and had an athletic build with sun kissed skin .Her hair was thick and full of volume and her eyes were the most beautiful yet unusual shade of aqua he'd ever seen. Now however, she was borderline underweight, her eyes which were once so full of life had lost their shine and permanently looked bruised from the dark shadowing underneath them and her skin was so pale it was almost ghostly. She'd also grown until she was 5'9 but she just looked like a beanpole rather than a healthy young woman. Even her hair had lost its volume and hung limply no matter what she did with it. Howard had tried everything he could to get her to sleep properly but she never listened to him and seemed oblivious to what she was doing to herself.

Even Duo had been shocked the last time he saw her, claiming that she looked worse than she had done back on L2. The pair had grown up together, having been together since before they could remember. They referred to themselves as brother and sister but it wasn't until Sam was in hospital after the explosion that it was discovered that they actually w_ere _siblings. Sam needed a blood transfusion and all the pilots were tested. When Sally got Duo's blood results back that showed his blood was identical to Sam's , she sent a DNA sample from each of them for testing. It came back that their DNA was almost identical, and it was that moment that Duo realized that not only did he have a sister, he had a twin. Since that day they'd been even closer but even Duo couldn't talk sense into her.

Sam eyed Howard wearily as she ate, waiting for him to say something and when she saw him take a breath in she braced herself.

"Mel rang and left a message last night. She's coming round later to see you."

Sam blinked in surprise. She'd been expecting a lecture, not a message that her friend was coming round. She nodded and gave him a smile.

"Cool, thanks. No doubt she's going to try and persuade me to go somewhere with her again. As long as it doesn't involve boats I'm fine."

Both Sam and Howard grimaced at the memory of Mel's last adventure. She'd decided to try speed boating, only to go and hit Sam's boat and send them both crashing into the water. Mel, fortunately, only broke her nose. Sam on the other hand came out with a broken rib and wrist. She had not been amused with her best friend, but it had all blown over pretty quickly. Sam felt a small shudder run through her as she wandered where she was going to be dragged next.

Deciding that it would be a good idea to get ready before Mel arrived, Sam dragged herself and stretched the kinks out of her body. As she pulled her top off, she winced, feeling the scars pulling tight. On the whole, she didn't have any pains but as always, whenever she dreamt of the explosion, her back was agony as if she could feel the metal digging into the skin. She looked at her back in the mirror but quickly looked away again, feeling too drained to look for too long. She ran her hand across her arm where there was a single straight scar running up it from a stray piece of shrapnel. As with her back, she could almost feel the pain of the skin being torn and she felt herself fighting the feeling of nausea that threatened to take over. She moved away from the mirror and quickly dressed before heading down to the living room to see what Howard was up to.

She found him in the garage, tinkering on an old jeep that he'd been restoring since the war. He'd been in it during the war of AC196 when a stray bomb hit nearby, sending the vehicle crashing into a building. The jeep had been almost completely destroyed and Howard had fortunately managed to survive by the frame of the jeep shielding him from any damage. As it was his favorite jeep and had saved his life, Howard was determined to fix it up once again. It was almost finished, it just needed to be painted and have new wheels attached and it would finally be ready to use once again. Sam had helped him along the way, chipping in whenever she had time and she felt proud that she had helped him bring it back to its full glory. Even Duo had chipped in, sending them spare parts he found at the scrap yard.

"I see she's nearly finished" Sam said, making Howard jump.

"Don't do that! Or at least make some kind of noise when you come into the room rather than be all silent like that and give me a heart attack!"

Sam sniggered and caught the cloth Howard threw at her with a smirk on her face.

"That the best you got old man?" she challenged.

Howard's eyes suddenly gained a strange twinkle and the next thing Sam knew, she was running out of the garage as fast as she could, a spanner flying after her. She glared towards the garage before shaking her head and grinning, admitting to herself that okay, that one she deserved. She straightened up just as the door knocked and an exited voice called into the house.

"Sam! Helloooo! I can see you!"

Sam laughed and opened the door, stepping back as Melanie flew into the house, ready to glomp her.

"Not today, Mel. My back's sore" Sam said.

Mel immediately pulled away, a look of understanding in her eyes. Instead, she grinned and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and thrusting it into Sam's hand. Sam eyed it wearily before opening it, a feeling of relief washing over her as the word 'CIRCUS' appeared at the top of the paper.

"So? You wanna go?" Mel asked, a silent pleading on her face.

Sam deliberately took her time in responding but couldn't stop her laugh as Mel's face dropped. She threw an arm round the shorter woman's shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll go. What could possibly go wrong at a circus?" she asked.

As Mel cheered and began chanting excitedly that she was going to the circus, Sam had a look at the poster, noting that it was the L3 travelling circus. Something about the name rang a bell in her mind, but Sam shrugged it off. After all, a lot of people and things came from L3.

She just wasn't expecting to see a green eyed clown there that seemed very familiar…


	3. Clowns

_Sorry for the delay in updating! Anyway, here's the next chapter! Thanks to those who have reviewed/favourited/alerted this story- it makes me so happy! Enjoy!_

Sam sighed softly as Mel dragged her towards their seats, bouncing up and down as she did so like a small child would. Sam couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face from watching her best friend's actions, and found she was actually feeling excited about the show. Mel squealed excitedly as she sat down in the front row and pulled Sam with her. Sam wasn't expecting this and fell, not so gracefully, into her seat. She glared up at her friend, who was oblivious and continued gazing eagerly around the room. In the end, Sam sighed and rolled her eyes.

As she turned her gaze back to the centre of the ring, Sam heard a soft laugh and looked up to see a clown standing there, watching her with a wide smile on his face, having clearly seen the interaction between the two females. She rolled her eyes and decided to playfully stick her tongue out at him before he slipped behind the curtain and out of sight. Hindsight would have told her to not stick her tongue out at said clown, as when the lights went down and the music started, he decided to make her his target for cream pie throwing and soaking with water. Unfortunately for him, Sam had lightning fast reflexes and as soon as she saw the object coming towards her out of the corner of her eye, she ducked, just in time for it to hit the guy sitting behind her. She turned and apologised to the guy, elbowing Mel in the side for laughing at her as she did, and then turned back to the ring to watch what was happening. The clown gave her a small bow of respect and skipped off to the other side of the tent to terrorise some poor unsuspecting person. Sam looked at Mel and couldn't help but smile fondly at the excited look on her friends face.

"Mel? Have you ever been to a circus before?" she asked.

Mel shook her head.

"No. Mum wanted to take me but we never found time. When she died, dad just refused to take me because it reminded him too much of her. She used to be part of a circus, used to ride horses, so seeing it would've killed him."

Sam gave her friend a sympathetic look and put an arm round her., only to let out a shriek as something very cold and wet landed on her. She let go of Mel and looked towards the ring, to see the clown from before skipping off and laughing like a mad man. She glared, deciding he was going to suffer when the show finished. Mel was laughing hysterically next to her and Sam sighed, deciding that maybe the clown had actually helped and so maybe she could forgive him. Maybe.

Mel squealed excitedly as she saw a group of horses enter the ring, and Sam pushed her wet hair out of her face to see what they were doing. Even she had to admit that the tricks the rider was doing on the horses was amazing and she had a new admiration for Mel's mum. As the horses exited and the next act came in, Sam found her mind drifting, and as usual, she found herself thinking of the gundam pilots.

She often found herself wandering how they all were these days. Duo, she knew was okay; being her brother, he kept in touch and they'd seen a lot of each other since the war. He was now happily married to Hilde, who was seven months pregnant with their first child. She saw Quatre every now and again when he came to Earth on business and knew he was in a relationship with a woman he met at work and was planning on proposing sometime soon to her. As for Heero, Trowa and Wufei, the last time she spoke to any of them was at Duo's wedding, almost two years ago. Even then, it was a simple hello and goodbye from Heero, wordless greetings from Wufei and Trowa shared one dance with her before having to rush off to catch the next flight back to L3.

Sam was pulled out of her thoughts and back to the present when Mel grabbed her arm and whispered excitedly in her ear.

"Oh My God, look! It's her! The famous knife thrower!"

Sam looked over at the main ring and instantly found she was unable to tear her gaze away from what she was seeing. With each knife thrown at the clown's head, she found her body shake with the excitement and the adrenaline. When fighting, she always liked to have a set of throwing knives on her as they were very effective at making the opponent surprised, allowing for you to gain the upper hand. She also found herself watching the clown, from his long legs to his muscled arms. He then turned her way to bow to the crowd, and she gasped as she caught a glimpse of his visible eye. She would know that eye colour anywhere. She quickly excused herself and made her way round the back of the tents, just as the knife thrower and the clown moved out of the tent. She watched as he took off his mask and wiped his face before she drew her breath in and spoke his name out loud for the first time in months.

"Trowa"


	4. Date

_Sorry Guys, this is only a very short update but I promise you the chapters WILL get a lot longer and more interesting as of the next chapter! So please bare with me and I love you all for being so patient with me!_

As soon as they left the ring, Trowa removed his mask and allowed the cool breeze filtering through the tent to blow in his face and cool him down. He loved being at the circus; he'd never felt at home anywhere else, but he had to admit that he hated the costumes he had to wear. Deciding that he didn't feel up to sticking around afterwards, he told Catherine that he was heading back to his trailer to freshen up, and she decided to go with him as she too wasn't in the mood for staying back.

Trowa exited the tent, brushing the sweat off his head. Catherine turned to face him with a wide smile on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but a soft voice filtered through before she was able to utter a syllable.

"Trowa"

He turned towards the direction of the voice and when his eyes fell upon the teenage girl standing there, he just stared, inwardly pausing for a few seconds to think who she was. There was something about her that was familiar to him and he knew he had seen her before. He quickly looked at her and when he saw her pale blonde hair that was similar to Quatre's, it started coming to him, but it wasn't until he saw her eyes that it hit him why he knew her. Sam had unusual eyes. They were a very light blue, but she'd always had a few flecks of violet and even a tiny amount of gold in them, and when the sun shone in them, they turned into an extremely unusual colour that was a blend of the three. Trowa noticed that she was giving him an amused smile and met her gaze.

"You don't remember me, do you?" she asked, her voice hinted with amusement and sadness.

"You were on Peacemillion, right? Howard's granddaughter."

She nodded, her light hair shining in the sun and the sadness completely vanishing from her face to be replaced with happiness.

"Yep, that was me. The one that helped to give all your suits upgrades"

"And because of that, helped us win" he said with a slight smile.

Sam grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Trowa invited her back to his trailer but before she could answer, Sam heard her name being called and turned to see Mel jogging over to her. She turned back to Trowa and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I can't today. I noticed you're still in town for a week. How about we meet for lunch tomorrow if you're free?"

Trowa nodded without even pausing to think and Sam's face lit up. She gave him details of where and when to meet before walking towards her friend, giving Trowa a quick smile and wave over her shoulder as they began to walk in the direction of the town center.


	5. Spanner

_Sorry for the delay guys! Hope you like this one!_

When she got home, Sam immediately ran towards the garage to tell Howard about meeting Trowa. As she ducked into the main workshop, she found herself suddenly knocked to the floor with a sharp, intense pain shooting through her head. She let out a loud yell and one of the workers raced over towards her.

"I am so sorry! I was aiming for that jerk over there!"

Sam glanced over to find that the jerk being referred about was one of her friends, Leo who was cowering behind a large box. She let out a small moan.

"Typical. It's fine Mike, just aim a bit better next time, okay?"

Mike nodded and helped her to her feet. Leo emerged from his hiding spot and cautiously started to walk over but Sam scooped the spanner that hit her up into her hand and gave him a look that clearly told him not to take another step closer or the next thrower of it wouldn't miss their intended target. Leo gulped and took a step back, raising his hands in surrender which made Sam laugh. She gave the spanner back to Mike and after assuring him she was fine, continued on to Howard's office. She knocked on the door and walked in to see that he was speaking to Duo on the video phone.

She couldn't contain the smile that appeared at the sight of him, and felt her heart swell. Before Peacemillion, Sam had spent most of her life with Duo on the streets of L2. They'd known each other since before either of them could remember, and when they discovered shortly after the war that they were related, neither was totally shocked. They'd always had a close bond, closer than friendship but not close enough for anything involving romance. While they were both being treated after the war, the hospital accidentally mixed up a set of blood results. When it was discovered, they were immediately DNA tested and it came back that they had identical DNA which led to the revelation that they had been brother and sister the whole time. Twins at that.

Duo glanced up and saw her, then gave her his usual bright grin and wave. She smiled in response and said hi to Howard who gave her a backwards wave. Duo suddenly pointed at her in surprise and she gave him a confused look.

"What happened to your head?" he asked.

Howard spun round in his chair and raised an eyebrow at her. She quickly moved to the mirror on one of the walls and noticed that the spanner that had hit her had left a small but nasty looking cut on her forehead, but all Sam focused on was why it was she hadn't felt the blood that was trickling down her face. She let out a small laugh and wiped the blood away before turning back to the two males, who were still waiting for her to respond.

"Flying spanner" she said.

When they both gave her identical blank looks, she burst out laughing before telling them exactly what happened.

"Oh, and I saw Trowa today with the circus. We're going for lunch tomorrow to catch up."

Duo blinked a few times.

"Trowa Barton? As in our Trowa? Wow, I haven't seen him for a couple of years now"

Sam shrugged.

"Well at least you had some way of contacting him. I didn't."

Howard decided to cut the call short, knowing that if he didn't, the siblings would most likely end up in an argument. He said goodbye to Duo, who then said goodbye to Sam and signed out. Sam gave Howard a sideways glance.

"Sneaky." She muttered.

Howard simply smiled before leaving the room to discuss a flying spanner incident with a certain employee of his.


	6. Panic

The next morning, Sam found herself wishing time would move quicker. She glanced up at the clock, groaning when she saw it was only 8am. Four more hours to go until she could see Trowa. She sighed and let her head fall onto the counter in front of her. She heard Howard's chuckle from the door and sat up again, giving him a grin.

"I take it you're excited about later?" the older man asked.

Sam nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course! I rarely get to see any of the pilots other than Duo, so I can't wait!"

Howard chuckled softly.

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with the slightly larger than little crush you have on him?"

Sam immediately glared and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I do not have a crush on him!" she yelled, but the blush that appeared on her face said otherwise.

Howard laughed louder this time and waved to Sam over his shoulder as he headed towards the garage.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever honey."

Sam huffed and dropped back down in her chair. Okay, she knew she was attracted to him, but she knew there was no chance of them actually starting a relationship, so she forced herself to see him as a friend and nothing else. It had worked for the last few years and she would do her damndest to make sure it would continue to happen.

Shaking her head, she once again stood and headed to the garage to help Howard out with whatever vehicles needed repairing today. An hour passed and Sam found herself dancing around the garage as she worked alongside the radio playing in the background, thoughts of Trowa leaving her mind for a while. Howard watched as the young woman he considered to be a granddaughter pranced around singing along to the songs with a soft smile on his face. The ringing of the phone broke him from his gaze and he pulled his eyes away from the teenager to answer the phone.

"Howard's garage, Howard speaking. How may I...Duo? Whoa, calm down! What's happened!"

Sam stopped dancing and turned the radio off, immediately snapping out of her joyful mood and into a more focused one. She ran to the other side of the room and picked up the other receiver.

"Duo, it's Sam. What's going on?" she asked.

"It's Hilde...her waters broke and she's not even ready to have the baby yet she's only six months gone and she doesn't know what to do and we've not finished the nursery and I don't even know if babies can survive being born so early and..."

"DUO!" Sam yelled down the phone.

Howard winced and he pulled his receiver away from his ear. Sam sent him an apologetic glance and he smirked before drawing his attention back to the seriousness of the situation. Duo fell silent and Sam sighed thankfully, glad that he'd actually stopped talking.

"Okay, I want you to call me on my cell, that way I can walk and talk, okay?"

"Okay."

Within seconds of Sam hanging up, her cell vibrated and she flipped it open.

"Hey. So tells me what's going on. Slowly" she added.

As Duo spoke, Sam gave Howard a look that he knew meant she was leaving. He nodded and she left the garage, phone in one hand and keys in the other. She quickly moved to her room and threw whatever she could get her hands on in her bag before heading back down the stairs and stopping long enough to kiss Howard on the cheek as she left the house. Within moments she was in her car and on the way to the nearest shuttle port which thankfully was only an hour away. She knew that if she floored it, she could probably be there within thirty minutes.

"Well, Hilde was saying yesterday that she felt funny, like the baby was trying to beat her up or something. She was also sick during the night. About two hours ago she started to feel really ill and went to get up to go and be sick but as she stood up her waters broke and at the same time she had a small contraction. I took her straight to the hospital and she was taken to a delivery room ten minutes ago which is why I rang you."

Sam nodded to herself before she answered.

"Right. Well, I'm about ten minutes from the shuttle port now so I should be on L2 and with you within the next five hours."

"Umm, I've only been speaking to you for fifteen minutes." Duo said, his voice sounding confused.

"I'm pretty sure I'm breaking the law right now." She simply said.

"Oh right. Gotcha." Duo replied.

A voice appeared in the background and Duo's voice came back a moment later.

"Sorry Sam, I have to go. The nurse says Hilde's calling for me."

Sam chuckled and shook her head slightly.

"Sure thing bro. Keep me updated, okay?"

"I will. Thanks Sam and sorry for all of this."

"Don't you dare apologise duo. There's nothing to be sorry about."

Duo chuckled and said goodbye and Sam hung up, quickly dialling Howard's number.

"Hey kiddo."

"Hey Howard, sorry for rushing off like that."

Howard smiled.

"It's no problem baby girl. You just make sure you don't trash your car or something! Also, I'll go into town later and tell Trowa why you can't make it."

Sam's eyes widened as she realised that she'd forgotten all about meeting Trowa.

"Oh God, I didn't even think about him! Please tell him I'm sorry!"

"I'm pretty sure he'll understand. Now, focus on the road and call me when you're on L2 okay?"

"Sure thing Howard, thank you so much for understanding."

"No problem, just make sure our boy's okay."

"Will do. Bye."

She threw the phone on the empty seat next to her and glanced in the mirror, noticing for the first time that all colour had gone from her face, replaced with fear and urgency. She pushed it to one side and pressed her foot even further on the gas, determined to make a new record to get to the airport.

As soon as she parked, she ran to the front desk, almost crashing into it to stop herself. The receptionist looked up with an alarmed expression, her eyes opened wide.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" she asked as the teenager gasped for breath.

"Yeah, I will be." Sam gasped out.

After a few more seconds, she found herself able to breathe more steadily and faced the woman.

"Okay, sorry about that. As you may guess I'm in a rush. I desperately need to get on the next flight to L2. It is literally a family emergency and I'm needed."

The receptionist blinked a couple of times.

"May I ask the emergency? I may be able to get you through quicker."

Sam's eyes flashed with gratitude.

"My brother's baby is coming but his wife is only six and a half months along. He needs me right now as we're the only family each other have got."

Within a few seconds, the receptionists hands were flying across the keys on her keyboard and less than a minute later, a ticket was being printed and another worker came over.

"Charles, take my desk a minute."

The man nodded and as he slipped behind the desk, she came out and handed Sam a ticket.

"Come with me, we'll get you straight on the plane and I've arranged it so that as soon as you land, you will be the first person off the plane at the other end and won't need to do the usual security checks. They've even allowed you to take your luggage on the plane with you so you can literally jump off and go."

Sam's heart swelled and she found herself fighting tears at the receptionist's compassion.

"I can't thank you enough" she said as they approached the gate.

"I know what it's like to have a premature baby and I know that your brother will need all the family he can right now."

Sam nodded and gave her one last smile before she was ushered onto the plane by a flight attendant who gave her a sympathetic smile. Sam gave a soft smile back and settled in her chair, her mind spinning with the events that had happened in the last hour. At least now she was on her way to Duo.


	7. Reunion

_Here's the next update! The next few chapters were written in about an hour slot so please excuse any mistakes that may have slipped past me at 4am :P Anyway, enjoy and don't forget that a review is a drug to writers! _

_..._

As soon as she cleared security and exited the L2 shuttle port, Sam turned her cell on to see she had ten missed calls from seven people. As she slid into a taxi with the instructions of taking her to the hospital, she looked through the list of names of callers. Quatre, Howard, and Mel she wasn't surprised about. Relena and Wufei weren't overly surprising, nor was Lady Une. Trowa was surprising in the fact she had no idea how he had her number. The most surprising by far for her was seeing Heero's name on the screen. She raised a confused eyebrow and quickly pressed the caller button, hoping he would answer. Fortunately, he answered after just one ring.

"How's Duo?" he asked.

Sam couldn't resist the smile at hearing his voice and the concern she could sense filtering through his tone. Usually, she would have made a witty remark about his bluntness but today, she understood the need for seriousness, so kept her mouth firmly shut.

"Panicking. I've literally just arrived on L2 and am heading to the hospital now. I'll keep you updated." She reported.

"No need to. My ETA is just under one hour."

Sam nodded even though she knew he was unable to see her.

"That's great. Duo will appreciate the support. You really have changed, haven't you?" she asked him gently.

"Hn" was the only response she received before she was left with the dialling tone in her ear.

She smirked as she disconnected the call. Next, she called Quatre, who after telling her he had been informed by Howard about the situation, told her he was leaving L4 on the next shuttle and would be with them by the end of the day. He also told her he let the other pilots know and that each of them was coming to be with their friend. Sam found herself blinking back tears at the kindness of the pilots but determinedly forced them back.

"Thank you Quatre. I'll let Duo know."

"We'll always be there for both of you. During the war we became a family. Albeit a very dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless and we'll always be there for each other."

Sam didn't blink her tears back quickly enough and a single tear slid down her face. She sniffed and smiled.

"Sam?" Quatre asked.

"I'm fine Quatre. Just get here soon, okay? We could use some tea over here."

Quatre chuckled warmly and disconnected the call as his shuttle number was called over the PA system. Sam quickly checked her phone and was still listening to the messages left on her voicemail as they pulled up in front of the hospital. She exited the car with the phone tucked under her chin and paid the driver quickly, still listening to the messages.

"Hey. Howard came and told me what' going on. I'm coming up there with him soon. I hope everything's okay, see you soon." Trowa.

"I'll be there in 6 hours. Keep me informed." Wufei

"I'm unable to come in person but please give my love to Duo and Hilde and if there is anything at all I can do, please let me know. My thoughts and love are with you all" Relena

The last message made Sam snort in amusement at how her best friend was always able to make her smile even in the worst cases.

"Hey, are you okay? I know you're worrying yourself stupid so please remember to actually eat and sleep. Send my love to dopey and Hilde. Please, please, please keep me up to date. I will be ringing every few hours to check up on you, just in case you forget. Love to all. Oh, this is Mel by the way."

A nurse gave the cell in the teenager's hand a wary glance and Sam quickly switched it off and put it in her back pocket. The same nurse then gave her a smile.

"How may I help you?" she asked.

"I need the delivery room; my sister-in-law is in premature labour."

The nurse smiled calmly and showed her the way. She knew she was in the right place when she heard a familiar voice yelling at a poor nurse telling her not to ask him to calm down. Sam saw the nurse first, who was pale and slowly backing away from the loud American.

"Duo! Enough!" Sam called as she came round the corner.

Duo immediately froze and turned to face his twin. As soon as Sam saw the fear in his eyes and took in his haggard appearance, she immediately ran forward and pulled him into a hug. Dup held onto her with a vice like grip, his head buried deeply in her shoulder as he began to sob uncontrollably. Sam bit her lip with the pain of his grip but she'd never tell him and she knew that no matter how tightly he held on, she wouldn't ask him to stop. He needed this. It didn't take long for Sam to lose feeling in her shoulder and she began to think she couldn't handle the pain any longer before Duo suddenly froze under her.

"Duo?" she asked, suddenly worried about her brother.

Duo straightened, allowing Sam the freedom to look at his face and saw him staring blankly at something behind her. She turned and saw Heero standing in the corridor, watching them intently.

"Oh." Sam said in understanding.

Duo gave his sister a puzzled glance.

"I didn't have chance to tell you, all the other pilots along with Howard are coming. I wasn't expecting Heero for about another half hour yet."

Duo still said nothing, but he walked up to Heero and embraced him with as much strength as he had Sam. Heero looked at Sam over duo's shoulder and Sam gave him a thankful smile as she stood rubbing her shoulder. She glanced behind her at the delivery room door and after seeing Duo still wrapped up in Heero's arms, she moved towards it. She pushed the door open and felt her eyes water at the sight of Hilde lying on the bed, breathing heavily.

"Hilde?" she asked quietly.

The other woman's eyes opened slowly and glanced hazily at the girl in the doorway.

"You came." She whispered.

Immediately, Sam stepped forward and embraced Hilde.

"Of course I did. You're my family. I'm not the only one though, Heero just got here and Trowa, Wufei, Quatre and Howard will all be here within the next few hours."

Hilde's eyes brimmed and she began to cry. Sam sat down next to her and held her hand, smiling. They stayed in companionable silence for about thirty minutes, before Sam suddenly let out a soft sigh.

"It's going to be okay you know. We Maxwell's have an uncanny knack of getting through things. Okay so generally we barely get through things and quite often not quite in one piece, but we still make it out alive and well. You're a Maxwell too know, as is this little one, so I know that no matter how bad it may get, you're both going to be okay."

Hilde gave a gentle smile and squeezed Sam's hand in silent thanks. Suddenly, the grip tightened as Hilde yelled and clutched at her stomach. Sam's eyes widened as Hilde pulled away and she saw blood on the bed. Hilde looked at the blood on her hand and back at Sam, before swaying. Sam lurched forward to catch the woman and screamed out for Duo. Seconds later Duo and Heero crashed through the door, followed by a nurse who called out for a surgeon to be brought up.

"What's happening? Will she be okay? Why isn't she awake? What..."

Duo was cut off by Heero dragging him out of the room. Sam sent the stoic pilot a thankful glance and Heero nodded in response.

"Ma'am we need you to leave." A nurse spoke.

As much as Sam wanted to argue, she found herself unable to and left the room, as if in a trance. As soon as she left the room, she was pulled out of her trance when Duo barrelled into her, his shoulder slamming painfully into her own, his knee catching her stomach and winding her. Still, she threw her weight at him and pushed him hard enough that he was sent sprawling on the floor, the movement knocking him out of his panic.

"Impressive." A voice said from next to her.

Sam spun round to see Trowa standing next to her, with Quatre standing next to him. Both were tense, having been ready to grab Duo before Sam pushed him.

"How long have you guys been here?" she asked

"Quatre arrived about five minutes ago. Howard and I got here about an hour ago. We weren't too far behind you. Howard just had to make some arrangements and pick me up so we ended up on the shuttle after you."

Sam nodded before turning her attention to Duo, who was still sitting on the floor, staring at the door with almost uncontrollable fear in his eyes. She walked up to him and crouched in front of him, blocking his view of the door and forcing him to look at her.

"I'm sorry for pushing you but if you'd barged in there in that state you could have made it worse for Hilde and the baby."

Duo nodded and hugged her.

"I know. I'm sorry if I hurt you." He mumbled.

Sam hugged him back.

"It doesn't hurt really."

Duo didn't need to be psychic to know she was lying. He knew he had hit her pretty hard, but on this occasion he chose to let it slide. His mind was more occupied on his wife. Sam winced slightly as she stood. Yes, she lied to her twin but she knew he knew she had. Truthfully, she wasn't sure she hadn't cracked a rib and she knew her shoulder had dislocated slightly. She just needed five minutes alone to reset it and she knew she'd be fine again.

A nurse came out of the room and moved to Duo.

"Mr Maxwell? Your wife has to be taken to theatre. She's torn badly and the baby is showing signs of severe distress. We need to operate before she loses too much blood or the baby panics."

Sam put a reassuring hand on Duo's shaking , unable to speak, simply nodded and followed the bed as Hilde was wheeled out of the room. Sam saw the heavy lidded eyes of her sister-in-law but could also see the terror shining in her eyes, only softened slightly at the sight of her husband by her side. The impact of the situation hit Sam like a sledgehammer and suddenly, Sam found herself feeling suffocated in the small room with five men. She could feel tears beginning to build up and Quatre, being the empathy he was, noticed and put a hand on her injured shoulder. The contact caused something in Sam to snap and she forcefully pushed him off before running blindly out of the room, her vision obscured by her tears. At that moment she only had one thing on her mind, and the impulse blocked out all other senses and feelings in her body.

She had to run.


	8. Running

She didn't stop running when she reached the hospital exit, nor when the cool night air hit her body. She only stopped when she tripped over a cracked paving slab and crashed onto the floor. She cried out as her dislocated shoulder slammed onto the ground and instantly, she yelled a string of curse words she was grateful no children were around to hear. She sat up, a hand clutching her shoulder and finally let her tears fall. At that moment, she neither noticed nor cared about how it must look; a teenage girl sitting in the middle of the pavement, sobbing and clutching her shoulder. She just felt helpless. She was tuneable to help her sister-in-law, unable to comfort her brother and now thanks to her weakness, unable to even stop crying.

A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her state. With a yelp, she rose to her feet, instantly preparing to defend herself. Having grown up in the slums of L2, she knew that on this colony, it was rarely a good thing if someone touched you on the street. She looked up at her 'attacker' to see a concerned pair of green eyes staring at her. She immediately relaxed and swayed as her head spun from the speed she'd stood.

"Whoa, easy there."

A pair of gentle hands steadied her and she found herself smiling, despite how much she wanted to curl into a ball and forget the world at that moment in time.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"You were in such a state you didn't notice me chase after you. I could have stopped you but I knew that you needed to be alone so I chose just to follow you. I'm glad I did."

"Thanks."

Trowa looked down at the woman next to him and frowned at the sadness he saw reflected in every part of her. He noticed her shoulder and very gently nudged it, noticing her almost inaudible hiss of pain as he did.

"Need help with that?" he asked.

Sam shook her head.

"Nah, I got it. If there's one thing being around Heero Yuy teaches you, it's how to reset joints and bones."

As f to prove her point, she grasped the lamppost next to her and pushed down sharply on her arm. A sickening crack filled the night and Sam groaned as she slumped forward, relief evident on her face. Trowa smiled in sympathy, having had to do the same thing to himself on many occasions. He knew how much it hurt to reset but also the relief from the pain afterwards. Sam turned back to face him and he gave her a worried look.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Honestly? No. I just feel...so helpless. I'm used to being able to fix things when something goes wrong. Hilde giving birth so early is out of my control and I don't like it. I'm scared, Trowa."

Trowa said nothing. Instead he wrapped his arms round the shaking woman and held her close to his chest. Sam buried her head into his sweater and inhaled his scent, something that reminded her of exotic fruits mixed with cinnamon and snow. It was a strange combination of scents but it warmed her and calmed her, causing her to relax in his grip. Her shivering didn't stop only because she had run into the cold with no sweater or coat on. Trowa rubbed her arms and started leading her back to the hospital. Fortunately, she hadn't run very far before falling so they were only a minute away from the building.

"Listen to me Sam. Right now, just knowing you are there is helping Duo. I don't think he would be anywhere near as calm as he is if you weren't there. You managed to push him back because he let you. If you hadn't have been there, it would have taken all of us to hold him back. Whether you think you are or not, you are helping."

Sam walked silently, thinking about Trowa's words. A smile crossed her face, not unnoticed by Trowa whose arms tightened round her in response.

When they returned to the rest of the group, they were all sitting outside the theatre doors. Duo had started pacing but when he saw his twin, he stopped and gave her a brief hug.

"You okay?" he whispered.

"I will be." She replied.

Duo smiled before turning his attention back to the clock and resuming his pacing. Sam sat down next to Heero and saw him glance at her.

"I'm fine Heero" she said, reading into the stoic pilot's gaze.

Heero nodded and turned his gaze back to Duo, who was glancing at the clock every time he passed it. After a while, Sam suddenly jerked and sat up, realising she'd almost fallen asleep. She saw Heero give her an amused glance and elbowed him in return, making him smirk. Sam looked round the room to see Quatre lying across two chairs, asleep, Howard asleep with his head flopped onto his chest and Trowa with his eyes closed and his head close to his chest, but Sam could tell by his breathing he wasn't yet sleeping. Heero seemed wide awake as did Wufei, who was sending glares at Duo's back. Duo himself was still pacing but he'd at least stopped looking at the clock every few seconds. Sam stretched and stood, placing a hand on his shoulder and halting his pacing. She noticed the look of relief on Wufei's face and fought a smirk before turning her attention back to her brother.

"Duo..."

Before she could say another word, a nurse came out into the room. Trowa's head snapped up and he nudged Quatre awake. Heero shook Howard, who woke with a loud snort.

"Mr Maxwell, your wife is stable. We're about to perform a caesarean now as the baby is in distress. Would you like to come in to be with your wife?"

Duo walked like a bat out of hell to the theatre and the nurse followed him. As the doors shut, the group all relaxed, but there was still an aura of concern in the air. Sam glanced at the clock and almost groaned when she saw that she'd been at the hospital fourteen hours now. It had been almost three hours since Hilde had been taken to theatre. Fortunately, it wouldn't be long before they knew for certain of the outcome. For now, they could only sit with fingers crossed as they waited for news about mother and baby.


	9. Girl

It seemed like many hours later, when in reality it was only two hours, that Duo came out of the theatre, looking elated yet scared and on the verge of tears. Sam found herself too scared to stand and ask him what happened. Her throat simply constricted and she found herself fighting to breathe properly, let alone speak. It was Quatre that spoke first.

"Duo is everything..."

He tailed off, knowing there was no need to finish his question. Duo turned his torn gaze to his friend.

"Hilde is stable however she could relapse if not careful. She also gave birth to a baby girl."

Sam stood faster than anybody else responded and threw her arms round her brother, seeking his comfort as she let a shaky breath into his neck. Duo wrapped his arms round her and hugged her back. Sam knew he had more to say but at that moment, Hilde and the baby were alive and that was enough for her.

"What else?" Howard asked.

Continuing to embrace his twin, Duo carried on.

"The baby is in critical condition. She's only 2lb and can't do anything by herself at the minute. They've put her straight into an incubator but they've warned me...they said...she may not...she might not..."

He broke down, burying his head in Sam's hair. Sam let her own tears fall, her compassion and sympathy for her brother overwhelming her. She hugged him tighter, silently telling him it would be okay in a way only twins can communicate. He nodded and she knew he received her message, sending his own back that he appreciated her comfort. The other people in the room left silently, leaving the siblings alone for a moment. Sam pulled away and sat Duo down on a chair.

"What's happening now then?" she asked.

"They're taking Hilde and the baby to the ICU and they'll be transferred to a hospital on L4 within the next two hours. The facilities here are nowhere near the standard needed for the baby and obviously they aren't going to separate her from her mother."

Sam nodded and put her head on his shoulder. He rested his cheek on her hair and inhaled softly, loving how she always had a very faint smell of engine oil engrained on her body. He smiled and kissed her head. Sam sighed and stood, holding her hand out to him. Duo raised an eyebrow and stared blankly at her outstretched palm.

"Umm?" he asked.

Sam rolled her eyes and gave him a smirk.

"Well, I assume you're going with them. I'm going to go back to yours and get bags prepped for you and Hilde and while I'm gone, you are lying down here and sleeping. You haven't slept in almost two days and it shows."

Duo sighed knowing he wasn't winning this one no matter how much he argued. He took his keys out of his pocket and threw them to Sam, who was smiling smugly, happy in the satisfaction that she'd won. She waited a few minutes while he lay down and when less than five minutes later she could hear him snoring gently, she was happy to leave. As she left the room, she saw the others hanging around just outside and smiled at them all.

"Okay, Hilde and the baby are being transferred to L4 to one of the best hospitals for premature babies. Duo's asleep because I made him lie down, so please try not to wake him. I'm heading to his house to pack clothes for him and Hilde. If anyone wants to come along, feel free. See you in a while."

She continued down the hall and was surprised to see that it was Heero and Wufei who accompanied her back to the house. The journey was silent but it was to be expected and frankly, at that moment, she couldn't have cared less. When she entered the house she grinned to see that they couple had clearly left in a hurry as the coat racked had been knocked on the floor and hadn't been picked up again. Sam smiled as he put it back in place and she took her jacket off, adding it to the coats already there. She turned to the two men.

"Make yourselves at home. Living room's that way, kitchen's just down the hall and the toilet is actually under the stairs or there's one upstairs. Well, there's three upstairs but two are en suite. I'll be back in a minute."

Not waiting for a response, she hurried upstairs and into Hilde and Duo's room. She smiled fondly again at the state it had been left in, but unlike the coat rack, she opted to leave the bedroom in favour of making sure she packed the bags for the couple. She found a suitcase easily enough and it took her a very short time to pack everything she though the pair would need. At the last moment, she decided to take a blanket and something from the nursery for the baby and headed to the adjoining bedroom they were still in the process of converting into said nursery. Looking round, Sam could see they hadn't yet painted the walls and the furniture and accessories were all still in boxes, unopened and certainly unusable in their present state.

"Oh Duo" she sighed, once again trying not to cry.

She quickly found a pale pink blanket and a small white teddy in one of the boxes and placed them in the suitcase. Finally, she was ready. She turned to leave and bumped into Heero, making her squeak in surprise.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey yourself. What're you doing up here?" she asked.

Heero nodded towards the suitcase and stepped forwards, taking it out of her hand and carrying it down the stairs. As he left, Wufei appeared and looked at her.

"Do you need anything else doing?" he asked her.

Slightly touched by his care, she shook her head.

"Thanks, but I can sort anything else out later. When they've been transferred I'm coming back here. I plan on staying and finishing the nursery for them as a surprise; although I don't think Duo will be anywhere near as surprised as Hilde will be. He knows me too well."

Wufei chuckled and shook his head, knowing her words to be true. Sam picked her jacket up off the rack and joined the Chinese man at the door.

"Okay, let's get back to the others."

The drive back was comfortable and when they reached the hospital, Sam realised it was the first time she'd been alone with the two men and it wasn't as bad as Duo made it out to be. Maybe the fact she wasn't as flamboyant as her brother had something to do with her comfort around them. When they returned to the others, she noticed Duo still asleep where she'd left him, only his face was scrunched and he looked like he was trying not to cry. She pushed past Quatre and Howard and sat next to him, raising his head and placing it on her lap before stroking his hair soothingly. Almost immediately the look slid off his face and he sighed contentedly as he nuzzled into her leg. Sam tried not to giggle as she watched him and noticed the others giving her curious looks of varying degrees.

"This is how we used to comfort each other on the streets. One would sleep, the other would guard. Even now it's how we help each other through hard times."

Nobody questioned it but more than one of them had the same thought cross their minds '_who's going to be there to do that for you when he's gone?_'. Only one of the group knew she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, but the elderly man chose to stay quiet on the matter. When a nurse came over to them a short while later, Sam glanced up and smiled.

"I assume you are Miss Maxwell?" she asked.

"I am. I would stand and shake your hand but I'm a bit stuck" Sam smiled.

The nurse grinned at the teenager.

"I understand. Well, everything's ready for the transfer. Mom and baby are loaded in the air ambulance, we just need dad now."

Sam nodded and thanked the nurse. As the nurse left, she gently shook Duo awake and giggled when he looked at her blearily.

"Wassamatter?" he mumbled.

"You gotta go bro."

Duo immediately woke at those words. He quickly thanked everyone for being there for him and after a round of hugs, he turned to his sister and gazed into her eyes, the only thing other than hair colour that really differenciated them. While his were deep blue flecked with violet, hers were bright blue flecked with violet and gold.

"You have no idea how much I love you and appreciate you almost killing yourself and getting arrested for breaking speed limits to be here. I'll never forget it."

"I'll see you don't" Sam smiled.

After receiving one last crushing hug from him, Sam pushed her brother towards the waiting nurse and waved as he disappeared from view. She let out a gentle sigh and slumped down onto the nearest chair to her. Howard placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"You okay sugar?" he asked.

"Actually, yes. I am. Now, what's everyone doing now?" she asked.

Wufei and Quatre claimed they had to leave and return to their jobs. Trowa and Howard planned on staying on the colony until morning. Heero simply shrugged.

"Okay, so Quatre and Wufei, I can give you guys a lift to the shuttle port. Howard, Trowa and Heero, you're all welcome to spend the night or as long as you need with me. I'm staying here for a while at Duo's. May as well be useful while I'm here."

By the time Sam returned to the house that night, she was alone. In the end everyone decided it was better to head back to their homes that night as they all had work or families to take care of. Howard gave Sam as much time off as she needed and she thanked him with a warm hug. Once goodbyes were said and one by one, each person departed, Sam found herself sitting with Howard and Trowa.

"Oh, Howard. Can you let Mel know everything? I would ring her but I don't think she'd appreciate a phone call at three thirty in the morning."

Howard chuckled.

"Of course. Anything for my favourite gal. Well, I'm going to go find somewhere with a view while I wait. See you soon honey and keep me updated."

He stood and stretched before giving Sam one last hug and kiss on the cheek and disappearing down the corridor. Sam shared a bemused glance with Trowa before the pair of them broke out in simultaneous smiles.

"Well, that was...strange." Trowa commented.

"Nothing unusual for Howard." Sam replied.

Trowa let out a soft laugh.

"I see"

The pair sat in comfortable silence until the shuttle was called. Sam stood with him and faced him.

"Hey, thanks for earlier. It really helped."

Trowa smiled at her.

"It's nothing. I'm always here for you" he said softly.

Sam smiled up at him and gave him one last hug before he too was on the shuttle back to Earth, leaving Sam behind, staring wistfully at the sky and wandering, not for the first time in the last few hours, about what the future held for them all.


	10. Reflections

_Hey, time for the next installment! Enjoy!_

It had been two days since everybody had left. The day after the left, Duo rang to say Hilde was going to be fine and had woken up long enough for them to name their daughter Helen Samantha Maxwell. Sam found it hard not to bawl like a baby herself when her brother told her their daughter was named after the two people who had the most influence in his life and who he wanted his daughter to grow up to be like. Howard had called each day to see how she was and though she told him she was sleeping, she knew he didn't believe her. She wasn't entirely lying. The first night, she had slept, she'd just woken up only a few hours later and hadn't wanted to go back to sleep again.

Instead, she turned her attention to the nursery. By the end of the first day, the walls had been painted a pale lemon and the new cream carpet had been laid, complete with lemon rug on the floor. By the end of that morning, Sam had put the shelving up on the walls and had started to build the crib. She was halfway through the build when there was a soft knock at the front door. She wandered down the stairs and glanced through the spy hole, sighing with relief to see it was Trowa. She opened the door and he smiled at her.

"Hey."

"Hey Trowa. Umm, is something wrong?" she asked, clearly confused.

Trowa shook his head and smiled at the confused expression on her face.

"Nothing's wrong. I figured since I hadn't taken any holiday from the circus, I'd use some of it up to help you get the nursery ready for Duo and Hilde."

For a few seconds, all Sam could do was blink stupidly. She wasn't sure she had it right; Trowa had taken time off work to help her get the nursery ready? Her stomach began to flutter unexpectedly and she frowned at it before coming to her senses and stepping one side to let a bemused Trowa into the house.

"Sorry. Come on in. I'll show you the spare room."

He followed her up the stairs, past two open doors before Sam stopped.

"This is the spare room. You'll have to share with me I'm afraid but its two beds, I hope that won't be an issue. If you'd rather though I'll just stay in Duo and Hilde's room."

"It's fine. I take it the messy bed's yours?" he asked.

Sam spun to see her bed as neat as the unused one and punched his arm as she saw the amused twinkle in his eye.

"Very funny. The nursery is just down the hall. I'll leave you to settle in and if you want to come help I'll most likely be in there for the day."

She walked away almost in a daze, still trying to comprehend the fact that Trowa really was in the house and better yet, really was sharing a room with her. A shiver went up her back but whether it was from nervousness, excitement or anticipation, she didn't know. All she knew was that spending one to one time with the tall, silent pilot was something she hadn't had since the war and she was curious to see how he'd changed. She still remembered the first meeting with him...

_Yet again, the alarms were blaring; only this time, there was no danger around. It was simply an alarm to say people were boarding. Still, Sam had to resist the urge to make Howard suffer for having an alarm when a simple announcement would have sufficed and instead, focussed her attention on the two mobile suits that entered the hangar. One, she recognised instantly and wasted no time in running over and throwing her arms happily round the pilot the moment he exited the cockpit._

"_Duo!" she called happily._

_Duo returned her embrace with just as much gusto and swung her round, the pair of them laughing happily at being reunited after almost six months apart._

"_Hey Trio, how are you?" he asked._

_Sam smiled warmly at his nickname for her. When he chose the name Duo after Solo died, Sam had quickly been given the nickname Trio as Duo so innocently put it "Me and Solo were the terrible duo. I, you and Solo were the unbreakable Trio. Therefore, as I am Duo, you are Trio."_

_Sam lightly punched her 'brother' on the shoulder._

"_It's Sam. And I'm doing fine, thanks for noticing." She responded dryly._

_It was at that moment Duo noticed that she'd cut her hair and to go with it, had lost her puppy fat to muscle, giving her a leaner, toned frame. He nodded and whistled._

"_Well, I never thought I'd say it but you look positively...masculine."_

_Sam's jaw dropped and her eyes darkened. Recognising the signs including her feet shuffling and her fists clenching, Duo took a tentative step back. As she darted forward, he let out a very feminine sounding scream and took off running in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding the pilot of the second suit who had finally emerged from his cockpit. Sam wasn't so fortunate and found herself crashing into something solid that sent her sprawling on the floor and hitting her face off one of the metal rails on the platform. She let out a moan of pain as black spots darted across her vision and she gently felt her cheek, wincing at the sharp pain that crossed the area she touched. A hand came into her vision and she looked up into the most piercing green eyes she'd ever seen in her life._

"_Are you okay?" a soft yet somehow strong voice asked._

_Shakily, she reached her hand out and let the tall stranger pull her to her feet. She stumbled slightly dizzily as she regained her bearings but he didn't let her go._

"_Thanks and sorry about that." She said quietly._

_The stranger gave her a small, brief smile and she instantly felt butterflies explode in her stomach at the way the expression enhanced his features and softened his eyes. She smiled shyly back but the moment was broken by none other than Duo._

"_Hey Trio, y'okay? That looked painful!" he called, laughter evident in his tone._

_Sam glanced over to see Duo standing far away from her, where he thought he would be safe. He thought wrong. Bending down, she scooped up a wrench and deftly threw it in his direction where a few seconds later there was a yell of pain followed by curses that earned him a cuff on the back of the head from Howard. The boy next to her chuckled and Sam beamed at him, even as she swayed from standing up too quickly ._

"_So, I take it your name is Trio?" he asked her._

_Sam shook her head._

"_No, that's just Duo's nickname for me. My real name is Sam."_

_She extended her hand and he took hold of it. His grasp reflected what she'd seen so far, strong yet gentle. Smooth with a hint of roughness earned through hard work and hardships. She smiled at him as he shook it._

" _Trowa."_

Sam was broken out of her thoughts when a piece of the crib slipped out of her grasp and landed on her head. She let the piece of wood and the screwdriver she was holding crash to the floor as she clutched at her head.

"Ow! Dammit, stupid piece of frigging wood!" she yelled.

There was a chuckle from behind her but she didn't turn round, instead she simply flipped the finger at her amused audience before picking up the screwdriver again. She then picked up the wood and lined it up to the holes, cursing inwardly when she realised she needed three hands to hold it in place. A shadow crossed her vision and next thing she knew, Trowa was standing there, holding the offending piece of wood in his hands, allowing her to attach the screws.

"Thanks" she mumbled grudgingly.

She saw the small smirk on the caramel haired man and stifled a growl. She'd never been one for building furniture. Give her a car and she'd happily build it piece by piece, but give her a piece of furniture and she'd be more likely to throw it out the nearest window than sit and build it. Still, this was her brother and her sister-in-law who she would happily die and kill for, so for them, she reminded herself, she would suffer and do it. Trowa noticed the evil glint in her eye and smiled to himself. He personally enjoyed small tasks such as building furniture. He found the simplicity of it soothing and calming, but he could tell that for Sam, it was too simple. She was used to complex machinery, and he knew that in comparison, asking her to build furniture was like asking a mathematical genius to count to ten.

"Okay, that one's done" Sam declared.

Trowa nodded and they wordlessly moved on to the next part. It didn't take long for them to complete the crib and Sam had to admit, when it was finished, it was beautiful and went perfectly with the cream and yellow shades around the room. She smiled and wiped the non-existing sweat off her face. Her stomach suddenly growled and she fought a blush as Trowa glanced at her with a look of amusement.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"No, It's just my stomach's way of appreciating the effort put into the room." She replied sarcastically.

Trowa rolled his eyes and smirked before looking towards the bedroom door. Taking the hint, Sam sighed and made her way down to the kitchen, leaving the next piece of furniture in his capable hands. As she prepared lunch for the two of them, her mind once again thought back to the first time they'd been alone together.

_It had only been three days since Duo and Trowa arrived, yet to Sam, it felt like three years. Duo had mostly been manageable, but still, the odd thing managed to slip through Sam's hawk eyes; for instance, the paint pot he'd strategically placed above her bedroom door so that when she finally stumbled to bed at 2am, she'd had an unwelcome surprise. It had taken her almost an hour to get all of it out of her hair and when she stepped out of the shower, she no longer felt tired as she had done when she originally went to bed. Now she was wide awake and at that moment, she was fully prepared to hunt the braided idiot down and strangle him to death with said braid._

_Shaking the thought out of her head before it nestled too deeply and made her actually act out her fantasy, she decided to head towards the gundam hangar and work on new upgrades for the two suits. She'd spent as much of her free time as possible studying the suits, getting to know them inside out and noticing a few minor flaws or areas that needed improving in the process. Duo had already noticed that the adjustments she made to Deathscythe's arm made it much easier and faster to draw out the scythe from the back and the thrusters she'd also altered made turning and dodging attacks almost effortless. _

_Now, it was time for her to start studying Heavyarms. What she wasn't expecting was for someone to already be in the hangar. As she approached the suit, she heard a noise and quickly ducked, grabbing the closest thing to her which turned out to be a screwdriver. She edged closer to the noise and suddenly it was behind her. Not even thinking, she stabbed with the screwdriver and heard a grunt of pain. She turned to run but whoever it was grabbed her foot and pulled her down onto the floor. She kicked out and let out a scream but her mouth was covered and she found herself being pinned to the floor._

"_That wasn't very nice you know"_

"_Trowa?" she said, however her mouth was still covered so all that came out was "roa?"_

_The hand let go of her mouth and the body pinning her relaxed, allowing her to shuffle back. She flicked a switch next to her and the area they were standing in filled with light._

"_So that's where the switch is" Trowa mused._

_Sam gasped as he faced her and quickly walked over to him, grabbing his face. She turned his head and her eyes widened when she saw a bleeding gash going across his cheek. A perfect, screwdriver shaped gash._

"_Oh my god, I am so sorry! I'll get some antiseptic for that!"_

_She turned to leave, tears forming as the reality of the situation hit her. She'd actually stabbed him, in the face! A gentle hand on her arm stopped her from leaving and she gave him a surprised look._

"_It's fine; believe me I've had much worse. Now, why were you sneaking around in the dark?" he asked._

_Sam relaxed in his grasp, realising he really wasn't angry with her and by changing the subject, was letting her know he was fine._

"_I was coming over to get to the switch here. It's annoying turning all the lights on, so I just wanted the lights here on so I could have a look at Heavyarms."_

_Trowa looked from Sam to the gundam and nodded in understanding._

"_I see. So, would you like a guided tour?" he asked her._

_For the next hour, Trowa showed Sam every part of Heavyarms he knew of and along the way; Sam made mental notes on how to upgrade the suit. For the next month, the pair spent at least two nights a week working together on upgrades. Each time, Sam grew fonder and fonder of the older pilot until she knew it was too late for her to back out._

"Oh come on!" Sam yelled as the knife slipped and sliced her finger.

Mumbling to herself, she ran her finger under the tap to stop the bleeding. She really needed to stop spacing out like that, especially as it kept getting her injured. In a way she couldn't help but think it was karma. She stabbed Trowa that night, now every time she thought about it, she would end up injured.

"Need some help?" came Trowa's once again amused voice from the door.

"No thanks" Sam grumbled as she continued to run the cold water over her finger.


	11. Ideas

_Hey guys, sorry for the lateness of this update- I promise to do better this year, as long as uni, friends and my boyfriend don't get in the way that is! :D_

Trowa noticed over the next couple of days that Sam rarely, if ever, slept. It didn't matter when or how often he woke up during the night, she would be lying on her bed, simply staring at the ceiling or out of the room doing other things. Duo had warned him about the problems she'd had since the war, but he didn't know it was this bad. They all had nightmares and they all had things they'd rather forget, but with Sam, it was more than that. Trowa had a theory that because she was exposed to so much negativity as well as almost dying herself that day, she'd developed a severe mental condition that he couldn't remember the name of but knew that when people with the condition dreamed, they weren't just dreaming and instead it was like they were actually there. They could feel everything and anything but were powerless to stop it. Trowa tried to tell Sam, but she just shrugged it off.

"Maybe" was all she'd said and that was the end of it.

Occasionally he would see her napping on the sofa or in bed but the moment he made any noise she would snap awake and continue as if nothing had happened. He also noticed that the longer she went without sleep, the less she ate. Even this morning, she's simply eaten three bites of toast and half a glass of juice before discarding the rest and leaving for a jog.

Even now, Trowa could see she was fighting sleep even as they sat on the sofa watching movies. They'd unanimously decided to break from decorating in favour of a day in front of the TV and after arguing over which movies to watch and what snacks to buy, they were finally settled and contented. After watching Sam fight sleep for almost an hour, Trowa suddenly switched the TV off.

"Umm, it wasn't even halfway through." Sam pointed out.

"I know. Now, you are going to listen to what I have to say and you are going to accept it instead of shrugging me off."

Sam didn't want to hear it but as Trowa explained his theory to her, she couldn't help but think that maybe he had a point.

"Okay, so I accept maybe I'm stuck in some kind of limbo in my dreams but I don't see what can be done to help it."

Trowa rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He himself hadn't thought that far; he'd only thought about how to get her to accept the problem, not how to go about fixing it.

"I don't know. But for now, we'll just go along with it. All I ask is to please sleep."

As much as she was frightened, Sam allowed herself to drift to sleep during the remainder of the film. Trowa noticed after he moved and she didn't stir that she'd actually done as he asked and had fallen deeply asleep. He smiled and placed a blanket over her before leaving the room to call Howard and give the old man an update. He knew Howard was probably the most worried about her as he was the one who saw her in this state the most, so any positive news he could give the elderly man was better than nothing.

It was almost three hours later when Sam woke up with a bloodcurdling scream. The bowl in Trowa's hand smashed on the floor as he raced towards the living room and grasped the young woman's shoulders.

"Sam! Wake up, it's me!"

The yell caused her to stop screaming but she continued to grasp his arms in a vice like grip, as if afraid that if she let go, he'd vanish. He gently moved his position so that he was sitting behind her with her cradled into his chest and gently rocked her. Sam calmed quickly and sat there in his arms, staring blankly at the wall.

"This is why I hate sleeping." She said, so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

He didn't respond and simply tightened his grip on her as she began to tremble with tears in his arms. He just didn't know what to say or do to comfort her.

...

Before either of them knew it, it had been three weeks since Helen had been born and Duo called the house, full of excitement.

"Hilde and Helen can come home in three weeks!" he chirped excitedly.

Sam couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face and noticed out of the corner of her eye that Trowa was also giving his friend a genuine smile.

"That's great Duo! I'm so glad! Well, I'll certainly be here to greet you all!" she called.

Duo waved before cutting the connection. Sam turned to Trowa and they shared a smile.

"I'm so happy for them" Sam smiled.

Trowa nodded in silent agreement and Sam moved into the kitchen to cook dinner. Since the first dream, Trowa had kept a close eye on her and was happy to see she was eating almost normally again and had gained some colour back in her face. Three nights after her nightmare, she woke with another one. Trowa, like before, held her but this time held her until she fell back to sleep.

The nightmare never came back.

Since then, they'd shared a bed every night and since then, her nights had either been dream free or had been filled with pleasant dreams. She began to feel healthier, her appetite came back and even her hair had more shine and life to it.

Sam was not delusional however. She knew that like all good things, it had to come to an end. Trowa had to return to the circus in just a few days and then she would be left alone with her fears. Up until now there had always been someone around when she slept. This was the first time she'd ever been completely alone with her dreams.

And that was something she had always fought to avoid.


	12. Realisation

_Next chapter! Enjoy and thanks for your reviews!_

When the day arrived that Trowa had to leave, Sam found herself only just able to keep herself composed and not break down into a mass of sobs, begging him not to leave her alone. When he gave her a small hug as he left the house, it took every ounce of her will power not to call him back. As if sensing her fear, he turned to face her once again and smiled reassuringly.

"You haven't had one of those dreams in a fortnight. You can do this, I know it."

She didn't want to remind him that him holding her every night was the reason for that. She shut the door slowly as she watched him fade into the distance and with shaking legs, moved to the living room to watch TV. The nursery was complete and there was no housework to be done, so really TV was all she had unless she went out, but no way was she brave enough to risk the streets of L2 on her own. She wasn't an impulsive and reckless child like she used to be. Briefly she wandered if heaven really did exist and if it did, she just knew Solo would be laughing at his little Trio being too scared to go out on the very streets where she once reigned supreme above all the other 'street rats' alongside her two 'brothers'. Still, it was definitely much more dangerous for her to be out there alone now at the age of nineteen than it ever was when she was seven.

Sighing, she flopped onto the couch and flicked through the channels until she found something she could stand to watch. Ironically, it turned out to be about the war and the gundam pilots. She lay her head down and didn't even notice that she'd fallen asleep until the dream started but by that point, it was too late. She found herself unable to wake up and could only watch as in this version of the dream, she was safe but everyone she every loved was blown up in the engine room, leaving her completely alone with nobody in the world to love her. The emotion began to choke her, and suddenly she was unable to breathe and could only claw helplessly at her throat as her lungs began to fail and her heart began to low painfully, sending her into darkness...

The scream that erupted out of her as she violently threw herself off the couch was unlike anything she'd ever let out before. She curled herself into a ball in the corner of the room, shaking and sobbing as the images from her dream replayed over and over in her mind. She could barely breathe and even as she stood to reach the phone for help, she found black spots appearing in her vision. She began to panic which worsened the breathing and the next thing she knew, the world went blurry and the last thing she saw was the floor rushing up to meet her as she blacked out.

When she woke, the house was in complete darkness and Sam found herself, for the first time in many years, afraid to be alone in it. Shivering, not due to the cold at all, she quickly turned the light on, but the soft glow that filled the room did little to settle her. She wrapped her arms round herself and moved into the kitchen to eat, but the sight of the contents in the fridge sent her stomach lurching and it was a mad dash from there to reach the toilet before she was sick on the spot. She washed her mouth out when she was finished and when she looked in the mirror, she flinched to see a pale, clammy, terror-stricken face staring back at her. Seeing herself like that made her burst into sobs and she sank to the floor, unable to stop the tears or the shaking.

Everyone always said how strong she was but in reality, she knew she wasn't. She wasn't anywhere near as brave as the gundam pilots. Yeah, she could pretty much fix anything mechanical you threw at her but that was where her skills ended. She got by okay at school, did alright at sports and was passable in the kitchen. Still, people continued to tell her how skilled she was and how beautiful she was but she herself just didn't understand why.

She knew it was unhealthy to let herself wallow in self pity and every fibre of her being was telling her to pick herself up and get on with it and stop being a baby, but just for once, she ignored her head and continued to sit on the floor, gently rocking to soothe herself.

It was the ringing of the phone that brought her to her senses. Hearing the sound, her head snapped up in surprise before she remembered Trowa telling her he'd call when he was back. It seemed like enough time had passed for him to be home by now, so Sam gently picked herself up and over to the phone. She deliberately left the video display off as she knew that one glance at her would have Trowa rushing back and she wasn't about to be responsible for him missing out on work.

"Hello." She said as she picked up the receiver.

"Hey. I got back about half an hour ago. Like I said, I'll only be gone two weeks, you be strong okay?" came Trowa's calm voice.

Whether he was aware of it or not, hearing his soft tone instantly relaxed her and the clenching in her stomach settled until it was a gentle pressure. Sam sighed softly down the phone and couldn't resist smiling.

"I know. I will be." She reassured him.

Her heart tightened a little at the lie, but really it wasn't that much of a lie. Yes, she was going to stay strong. However, she didn't plan on sleeping any time soon. Her strength was going to be fighting sleep for the next two weeks. The thought alone made her want to check herself into the nearest psych ward, but she held strong and pushed the thought out of her mind.

"Okay, well I'll speak to you soon then."

"Okay. Oh, and Trowa?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything. You have no idea what it means to me."

There was a small chuckle at the other end of the phone and Sam could picture him standing there with a hint of a smile on his face, his eyes shining with warmth as he answered.

"It's nothing. In the words of Quatre, you're family and we have to be there for each other in times of need."

This time it was Sam's turn to chuckle as she pictured Quatre this time, standing there with his usual gentle aura, calmly yet firmly telling her that she was family and he was there for her. She shook her head, smiling.

"That is true. Well, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing before you called. Speak soon."

"I will." He promised.

As they finished the call, Sam once again wanted to just cry, however she held it in and instead, sat in front of the computer to see what games Duo had on there that would interest her. It didn't take long to find one and she smiled as she let herself become engrossed in the computer, forgetting about the worries burdening her heart, just for a while.

...

A week later, when Trowa placed the receiver down after his daily check in with Sam, he let out a long sigh. He knew she was hiding from him and he could only guess that her dreams were affecting her again. A soft giggle came from behind him and he smiled as he faced his older sister. Like duo and Sam, DNA had proved that one Catherine Bloom was in fact, his long lost sister.

"You okay there, little brother? That sounded like a much burdened sigh."

Ordinarily, Trowa would have shrugged, but he needed advice on this one. He found himself opening up completely to his sister, telling her about Sam's sleeping and pointing out his own confusion.

"I don't know why I want to help her so much. I'm here now but I'm constantly thinking of her and it hasn't even been a day yet! I'm confused Catherine."

Catherine simply gave him a soft, yet knowing smile. She placed one soft hand on top of his own folded hands and looked into his eyes, nodding triumphantly when she saw what she guessed in his gaze.

"You love her." was the blunt, simple answer.

Trowa blinked a few times in surprise, but he didn't deny it. Something in his chest stirred and he found himself smiling as he gazed at the bonfire one of the members of the troupe had built earlier that evening.

"I think I might do." He said softly, so softly Catherine almost thought she'd imagined it.

_Almost_.

"So, why are you still sitting there? You're clearly unfocused and worried about her and she clearly needs you right now. I'm sure manager will understand."

Trowa gave his sister a long look and hugged her tightly before heading to his caravan. Within the hour, he was on his way to the space port, hell bent on making sure the blonde girl he left behind was as okay as she told him she was.


	13. Burglars

Sam sighed as she lay on top of her covers. Yet again, she'd almost passed out and lying down was the only thing that helped. Unfortunately, lying down was one thing she didn't want to do as it made her want to sleep. She'd only slept once in the past week and the dream had been as violent and terrifying as the last one. She sighed again, wishing, not for the first time, that she wasn't so messed up. She knew Trowa had caught on to her and knew she wasn't sleeping and she felt guilty for it, but just couldn't bring herself to apologise or force herself to sleep.

A faint noise from downstairs suddenly caught her attention and she slid off the bed, creeping to her door and listening carefully in the darkness. Sure enough, there was another noise, a soft bump followed by shuffling. Sam groaned to herself. She really wasn't in the mood or right state of mind and body to be fighting a burglar right now. Still, she knew full well how hopeless the police force on L2 was, so she simply took a deep breath and after collecting her gun from under her bed, made her way slowly downstairs, carefully avoiding any loose floorboards and thanking god that Heero had drilled it into her to know any building she was in completely off by heart.

As she reached the bottom step, she paused and listened to try and determine where the intruder was. A noise from the living room gave her the answer. She crept forward, hiding in the shadows as much as possible and when she reached the living room, she flicked the light on, pointing the gun at the intruder. The man stood straight and when he caught sight of the gun, his eyes widened.

"Oh god! Please don't shoot!" he pleaded.

Sam glared and kept her hand steady.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't"

The man said nothing, just continued to stare wide eyed at her. Suddenly, his gaze shifted, almost unnoticeably, behind her. Sam acted on impulse and spun to attack, but her arm was blocked, the gun sent flying across the room. A fist landed on her face and as she pulled back to defend herself, she swayed, cursing slightly. Her body was at its absolute limit and the adrenaline running through it was only making it worse. Her vision blurred and her head swam but she forced herself not to show it and chose instead to dart for the gun. The first man was ahead of her and as her fingers touched the cool metal, a white hot pain erupted in her stomach. She looked up at the man in shock and fear as he pulled the knife out of her side and sank to the floor as the pain increased. She found herself gasping for breath and grasped her side to stem the blood, but she was too weak to apply any pressure to it. Both men stood over her, one with a sadistic smile on his face, the other with a slightly shocked look.

"You stabbed her" the shocked one stammered.

"I did. I say we have some fun before we leave." He smirked.

Sam groaned, partly with fear and partly with pain and once again reached for her gun, but a foot stamping on her wrist stopped her short. She screamed in pain and pulled her arm back to cradle it against her chest, glaring up at the man. He simply smiled at her and licked his lips, sending any colour in her face away.

"I didn't sign up for this. I'm out of here." The other one said.

As soon as he left, Sam felt panic stir in her stomach. She watched as the remaining man moved over to her and a pit of anger suddenly exploded inside of her. She was angry at herself for letting her health get so bad, stopping her from defending herself. She felt angry that this guy clearly hadn't finished having his 'fun' and she felt angry that the neighbours clearly weren't about to help, probably because they were scared of what would happen to them if they did. She let out a desperate scream as he grabbed her hips and tried to shake him off but he simply held tighter, bruising the area he held. She hissed in pain and her anger slowly turned to fear as his intentions went from being words to reality and she was powerless to stop him.

"Please, don't" she whispered.

Her vision began to swim as her exhaustion threatened to overtake her and she grew even more afraid, lashing out wildly. She caught him on the side of the face and he growled, backhanding her across the face and causing black spots to explode in her vision. She moaned and he smirked.

"Now _that's_ the noises I want to hear."

If she wasn't afraid of choking, Sam would have been sick there and then at his words. She settled for glaring at him and this time when he hit her, she didn't emit a sound. This angered him and he began to tug at her clothes. She let out another scream and once again began to thrash. In her desperation she found herself screaming out the only person she wanted to be there at that moment.

"Trowa!"

Tears slid down her face as the man roughly pulled her pants down and she could only squeeze her eyes shut as his hands slowly crept up her leg, growing nearer and nearer to her centre...

The touch at the middle she was expecting never came. Suddenly, the man's weight was lifted off her and she opened her eyes in time to see the man hit the wall, effectively switching the lights back off and plunging the room in darkness. She looked around to identify her saviour, but couldn't make him out in the black of the room. She heard the man who attacked her moan and there was another loud crash as he was knocked to the floor. Sam tried to sit up but gasped in pain and fell back down. She felt her energy leaving her and looked to see she was still bleeding badly. She tried to speak and call for help but found herself unable to do so. The last thing she saw before she sank into unconsciousness was a shadowy figure leaning over her. She made out a mouth moving, but the words spoken to her were silent as she gave in to the pain and exhaustion, falling limply in her rescuers arms.


End file.
